Poor Tropicana Field named third worst stadium in the country

Poor Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. It’s named the third worst stadium in the country, according to a layout in TIME magazine. The Metrodome in Minneapolis was ranked the worst, but will likely be demolished soon.

If that happens, doesn’t that mean Tropicana Field will be just one spot removed from being considered the worst sports arena in the country?

It’s amazing that a warm-weather destination would choose to lock its baseball team in a giant warehouse. Tropicana Field, not-so-affectionately called “The Trop,” should be hosting millions of Fed-Ex packages, not some of the best baseball in all the land. Behold a brief inventory of the Tampa Bay Rays’ stadium’s odd quirks that make it one of the most inhospitable stadiums in all of sports: Catwalks? Check. Poor sight lines? Check. Rude service staff? Check. Mile walk from where your car is parked to the stadium? Check. The feeling you’re trapped in a giant pinball machine populated by whizzing baseballs ready to plop into your $8 Bud Light? Check. It’s especially insulting to the few Rays fans who have logged long hours taking in mostly losing baseball since the franchise’s inception. The reason? The Rays play their spring training games at Al Lang Stadium, one of the more spectacular minor league facilities in the U.S.

The Trop has its share of problems, but a “rude service staff” and a “mile walk from your car is parked” are not two of them.

And, by the way, the Rays no longer play their spring training games at Al Lang.

Nobody is going to call the Trop a “Top-10″ stadium, but how seriously can you take a guy who thinks the Rays still play spring training games at Al Lang Stadium. (They haven’t since 2008).

How seriously can you take a guy who thinks that there’s “rude service staff” at The Trop? (The AARP-eligible ushers and ticket-takers are as cordial as you will find in any MLB park.)

And how seriously can you take a guy who thinks fans have to endure a “mile walk from where your car is parked to the stadium?” (Obviously, the smallish-crowds and lack of Downtown location make parking a breeze at Tropicana Field…not to mention cheap.)

This guy is an idiot. No one in their right mind wants to watch a baseball game in the 90 degree heat OF NIGHT during the summer. And points out 8$ beers? Uh, thats every stadium in every major sport in america. Plus, very short walk. Plus pinball machine? It’s a baseball game. Yes, you have to actually pay attention to ensure you don’t get hit by a ball…this writer obviously has problems paying attention to anything in the sporting realm.

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